CHRISTOPHER GEORGESCO

Modern Outdoor Sculpture-Contemporary Sculpture Artist

Contemporary  Sculpture, Outdoor Moumental Sculpture, Modern Contemporary Sculpture, Abstract Modern Sculpture, Metal Sculpture, Stainless Steel Sculprture

ViIDEO  LINKS

Sculptor Interview 2012  http://vimeo.com/34545834

Sculptor Interview  2010   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kBsO2XSf0E

Solo Sculpture Exibition  2011     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrTn_pdbXf4

Line  Sculpture  Drawing 2011    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVX6P60Prhg

Bent Steel Pipe 2011     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYGg69InPwY  

Bent Stainless Pipe 2011    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5_hK4VwyZs  

Concrete / Steel 1974-1978      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niH3yLLJMBk&feature=related

Europe Cultural TV Documentary  2010    http://www.tvr.ro/inregistrari.php?file=DATA-2011-03-29-19-21.flv&id=Lumea     

15 min Sculpture Summary -Evolution of a Line 1970-2011     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT-2y3jabxY

MODERN OUTDOOR CONTEMPORARY SCULPTURE

I began making Modern Abstract Sculpture in Venice Beach, CA. in 1968 after graduating from Pacific Palisades High School.

At the time Venice Beach, CA. was a deserted decaying beach front town with dirt cheap rents.

I attended Santa Monica City College concentrating on Art History, Painting, Design and Welding.

I dropped out of College.

I learned the concept living in Venice on to live in a Large Space for cheap or nothing.

I secured a 5,000 Warehouse Space on a 15 year Lease, added new walls and began making Modern Outdoor Abstract Sculpture.

Having a large space helped create Monumental Abstract Sculpture and establish a presence as a  Venice Beach Sculptor.

Venice Beach was The Art Hub on the West Coast during 1960's-70's.

It was a great life style, drawing New Work at the beach during the summer and building them for my yearly February Exhibition at Newspace Gallery.  

My Studio was at 1506-1508 West Washington Blvd,now Abbott Kenny.

I establisheda  carrier as a Modern Abstract Contemporary Sculptor there.

My Father a Modern Architect supported my Art with No Reservations and told to stick to my artistic ways, I would be free forever.  I see myself as a Extension of my father through living around him was Modernism.  

I wanted to be different than him as a child but realize what a dynamic effecthe had on me.

Lucky to have found direction in Life at a young age and artistic backing I moved on into Modernism full time around 1970.

I believe strongly in Modernism and the Ideals associated with the Movement.

Modernism, a reductive, timeless and the understanding of Less is Morewill always be Contemporary.

The newest things today can be classified as Modern.

Less is More, is as intrinsic to Minimal Abstract Monumental Sculpture as it is to Modern Architecture.

Working in the late 1960's I saw Minimalism Post and found Abstract Outdoor Sculpture a direction to move in.

Things had reached such a Minimal Point in Modern Sculpture after the mimalists posted, it was timr I felt to use the Mimalist Qualities in Abstraction. 

Modern Art has been in flux, throughout the decades moving inward to simplicity, and outward to the complex. Modern Contemporary Sculpture and Abstract Modern Sculpture became second nature to me easily. In High School I would get paid to build Architectural Models for my Father's Architectural Firm in Century City during Summer Vacations. I also spent alot of time on Architectural Construction Sites with my Fathers. He exposed me to the materials I used in my Modern Abstract Minimal Sculpture. Wood, Concrete and Steel, they all left a undeniable mark on me and became my mediums of choice early in my carrier. I would have never thought that watching concrete foundations and slabs being poured would have led to carrier in sculpture, it was subliminal and directly transfered to my sculptural thought process without me relizing it at the time.

Through my early years in Venice I developed a Vocabulary of forms which I derived from splitting the Rectangle in different ways using arcs and diagonal lines. I was able to come up with dozens of shapes which later I referred to as my Vocabulary. This Vocabulary was used to create my Abstract Sculpture and still has not exhausted itself, and is very much alive in my Outdoor Abstract Sculptures today. One can always spot my work by its Vocabulary. The denounced forms that appear in different configurations and scales, are intrinsic to my Minimal Abstract Sculpture and most of all Modern. They have become my Language and are definitely undeniably recognizable as Georgesco. Typically my Outdoor Sculpture takes on a Monolithic Stance broken down simply yet making complex statements. Post Modernism which takes on a more decorative approach has never entered my Vocabulary. I have stayed Minimal in a Abstract sense and Direct as the Parameters of Modernism Dictate. Modernism is a Meditative State of reducing things down to their Simplest Form while delivering a maximum use of the space.

I had my first Exhibition in my newly renovated Studio which was reviewed in "The Art Gallery Magazine" issued in October 1972 by Michael Leopold, tittled "New Faces". By this time my Abstract Modern Sculptures and Personality caught the eye of Los Angeles County Art Museum's New Talent Comity and I became a regular on their yearly visits to Artist Studio's. Artist lined up to try out for "The New Talent Award" which included the purchase of a work for The Museum. I never won, I believe I came close perhaps, but I was still quite wild at 26 and most likely antagonistic. I thought I knew it all when I was that age. Even so, luck did come my way in that one of the members of the "New Talent Comity", Joni Gordon opened a Gallery in Los Angeles called "Newspace". This was to become the first Contemporary Art Gallery in Los Angeles to represent my Monolithic Concrete Columns. William Wilson Art Critic for The Los Angeles Times deemed my Exhibition a Overnight Success and my Sculptures Sold Out instantly to many of the Top Los Angeles Art Collections. My first Solo Show was followed up by a Exhibition at "The Los Angeles County Art Museum" in 1976 called "L.A. 8". It was a show of 8 Artist who had never been Exhibited in a Museum, and curated by Maurice Tuchman. The Exhibition included me, Christopher Georgesco, Robert Graham, Victor Henderson, Maxwell Hendler, Gwynn Murrill, Sylvia Shap, and Masami Teraoka. Soon after my second Solo Show at Newspace Gallery another Museum Exhibition came my way. My Second Solo Exhibition included Concrete and Steel Tripods which I had added to my oeuvre of Monolithic Columns. The secound Museum show came up within a year in 1977 at "The La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art" and was curated by Richard Armstrong, now the curator of The Guggenheim Museums. Armstrong wrote a article in Art Forum saying I was the most interesting sculptor in Los Angeles. This Museum Exhibition at "The La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art" was called "Four Californians", and included Christopher Georgesco, Patsy Krebs, Andrew Spence and Robert Theririen. These were some unbelievable years and I really thought they would never stop.

My carrier continued at fast pace through 1977 untill my Father murdered on the door step of my Venice Studio. I managed to work till around 1982 when I lost my lease on my Venice Studio. I managed to keep it together to do a 30 foot Stainless Steel Piece weighing 5,000 pounds for Tamara Thomas, one of the top Corporate Dealers in Los Angeles at the time. She had her Face on The Cover of Time Magazine in 1980. By the time I lost my Studio I was in no condition to move to another Low Rent Space. My Fathers murder had taken a toll on me and I was afraid of being on the street. The murder had effect my street smarts and confidence. I had no idea who murdered my Father and was near to a breakdown, so with the help of a friend I put a down payment on a small house in Bel Air. During the time between the murder and moving to Bel Air I was Hospitalized several times with Nervous Breakdowns. I became paranoid of the street. The killer was never caught and I wanted to only surround myself in upper class enviroments and people I deemed safe. I met a Lady with Henna Copper Hair and a Gold La May Dress at a New Years Eve Party hosted by James Reva a Fashion Designer and one of of my first art patrons. Things clicked whith this mystery woman and I became The Art Director for her Natural Skin Care Company. Within a year I found myself living at The Ritz Hotel in Paris wearing Armani Suits and driving a Mercedes Benz. I spent the next 5 years designing Print Ads, Cosmetic Displays, Brochures, Deal Sheets and Packaging while constantly traveling around the world to attend Cosmetic Expositions and visit Perfumeries as the job required. I had to to stay current with the world Marketing Trends and packaging, and we both loved it. After around 5 years of this Art Director Job I longed for my real calling, creating Abstract Modern Sculpture and had recovered from my Nervous Breakdowns and Paranoid Behavior. I was ready to hit the street again and make some more Modern Contemporary Sculpture.

I returned to the Art Scene in the late 1980's. When I secured my next Studio I found the small Outsider Occupation of the Contemporary Artist had exploded. It was like starting my carrier over again but this time with 100's of more Artists and Galleries. Los Angeles had boomed in the 5 years I took off from building Modern Abstract Sculpture. I did have some luck, and got a Solo Exhibition at Jan Turner Gallery in West Hollywood in 1990. I had to move as far East as possable during these years and had several studio's. I dumped my Home to get out from under the Mortgage and ended up in a 3,500 square foot Studio in South Central around 1988. It was cheap in South Central Los Angeles and affordable overhead had always been my ticket to staying in the Studio making sculpture instead of working other job too to maintain my overhead. The idea of working for someone at this point was out of the question. Years passed and I had met and married a Dutch a Girl in 1994 who came from a small village who was used to riding a bicycle and knew nothing about driving, especially in the heavy traffic of L.A.. She worked for a Fashion Designer in Venice and had to walk through the "Hood" as South Central Los Angeles was called to take the Bus to work early in the morning, returning after dark. Some Black Girls, (as we were the only White People in the neighborhood) started throwing rocks at my Wife from the train tracks on her way home, demanding money. My wife told them if she had money she wouldn't live their and they backed off. At this point I realized The South Central Art Studio was not in the place to be with a Young Wife to care for. We looked everywhere from Long Beach to Highland Park and everything was sky high expensive. I mean a couple hundred thousand in neighborhood with Gun Fights and Gangs. I was up against the wall for the first time as far as my Low Overhead Artist Survival Plan went.

We were in the habit of taking weekend get aways to get out of South Central and visit the Beach or the Mountains, camping and just getting away to spend some time around nature. Anyway on one of these outings we went to Palm Springs. I was no stranger to Palm Springs as my Father had done a lot of Modern Architectual Projects in the 1950's there when I was a child and took me along to swim at the Hotel. It had been years since visiting Palm Springs and it was a spur of the moment decision which proved pivotal. My wife picked up a Real Estate Brochure when we were there and we saw we could buy a New Home on a huge lot with a Tile Roof, Fenced and Carpeted for $50,000. We stayed the night and in the morning we went to the first Real Estate Office we saw. I told the Realator I was a Sculptor and needed a place where I could grind steel and not bother any of my neighbors. The Realtor said he had a perfect spot. It was a neighborhood development that went bust and there were only a few houses in the subdivision. I loved it and it and Palm Springs was less than 2 hours from Los Angeles leaving it possable to still do my Yearly Exhibitions at my Gallery Newspace. The subdivision we moved into is called "B Bar H Ranch" and it takes about 12 minutes from our house to Downtown Palm Springs. We bought the house without looking at another place. It was one of the best thing I ever did and that decision clinched my fate for life. My Low Overhead Artist Plan worked again by the hair of my chin and just plain Fate. It took several years of construction and modifications to turn my new place into a working Studio after the move to the Desert in late 1995. The best part of moving was I no longer renting Studio's and I am now living free and clear of payments of any kind and still have no neighbors. The downside is not showing my face around Los Angeles for Art Openings which makes it tough getting picked up by a Gallery there. We have such a good quality of life living here in the Desert with no Traffic or Stress which I must say more than makes up for not being as close to the Los Angeles Art Scene. We share our time between Palm Springs and our second Home in Holland through my wife. We have friends throughout Europe and other parts of the world that we love to frequent. Travel has become intrinsic to our Life Style. Getting out of Los Angeles saved us from struggling to pay the high rents and we live doing what we love. My Wife works Fashion Designer Trina Turk and I spend my time Sculpting. We have carved out a Idealic Life and both do what we Love.

After getting things set up to work here in the Desert which included building a small pool, a essential for the desert life style, along with electrical changes for welding and installing a sculpture garden I was ready to start working again. My next two series were both Abstract Modern Metal Sculpture which I showed in Los Angeles at Newspace Gallery. I have had than a 35 year relationship with Newspace and Joni Gordon, the owner has stuck by me through the good and bad times till recently we have parted ways as she has gone into semi retirement. The First Series I completed in my Desert Studio was "The Black Series" 1997-1999 which I followed with more Metal Sculpture with my "White Series" 2000-2002. Both Series were Painted Steel Sculpture and had alot of Volume to them. Working in Metal Sculpture gave me the freedom to create finer and sharper edges than my previous Concrete Sculpture could not achieve. I installed one of the Black Painted Steel pieces in the center of Palm Springs on Palm Canyon Drive and Andreas Road in 2010, tittled "Male Figure of Balzac".  Four of the White Series Sculptures made of Painted Steel were installed in Finland on the Largest Cruise Ship in the World, "The Oasis of the Sea" for Caribbean Cruise Lines which is now docked in Florida. Creating the work is the Art, when the pieces are finished its time to move on. I have no attachment to old work. My interest lies in whats next. I go to Los Angeles now and then for special events or business but cant wait to get back to the Peace and Stress Free Life we have here in the Desert with 9 months of perfect weather. I still get calls from Corporate Dealers in Los Angeles and have done quite well without the blessing of Los Angeles Social Mixing and Gallery Openings.

I am now Represented in Palm Springs by The Michael H. Lord Gallery. http://www.michaelhlordgallery.com and am working with Laser Cut Stainless Steel Monumental Minimal Abstract Outdoor Sculpture. I moved on to working in Stainless Steel after my 60th Birthday for its Modern Quality, Durability and Low Maintenance. Using Stainless Steel has brought my Minimal Abstract Sculpture into "The Light and Space Movement" which is predominate in California for obvious reasons. Like my Father I have had over 40 years of Peaks and Valley's in my carrier but have stood my ground and landed on my feet to continue doing what comes to me naturally, Modern Abstract Outdoor Contemporary Sculpture.